


December 8th

by magnusbicon



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Attempt at Humor, Birthday Party, Birthday Presents, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Magnus Bane's Birthday, Roommates, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 07:50:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16909065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnusbicon/pseuds/magnusbicon
Summary: “Surprise!”Magnus is frozen for a moment, his eyes widening as they take in all of his friends standing in the middle of his dorm with huge smiles on their faces.“What?”





	December 8th

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bagell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bagell/gifts).



> Happy birthday to my bicon, the man who keeps moving forward against all odds, who drinks from an endless well of generosity and love, and who owns my entire heart. 
> 
> Also, happy birthday to Selina (aka bagell)! I hope you have a fantastic day! <3

The library is alive with panicked chatter and overwhelmed tears, and Magnus looks out at his fellow students in a desperate attempt to keep his eyes open. He has been sitting in the same spot since 12 pm. 

It’s 9 pm now. 

He lost all feeling in his legs about 7 hours ago, his butt hurts like no one would believe, and he still feels like he knows absolutely nothing for the final he has tomorrow. Normally, this feeling of hopelessness would drive him to an insanity that would keep him in this spot for the rest of the night, but he can feel glares on his back from other students for taking up a good table all for himself, and if he doesn’t stand up soon he’s fairly sure he’s going to need a couple amputations. 

He closes his books at a snail’s pace, shoving them into his backpack with a carelessness that he rarely lets the public eye see, and stands.

_And almost falls right over_. 

He catches the edge of the table at the last second and stays upright, though, wincing as his legs immediately begin the process of making him feel like he is being stabbed by a million pins. He forces himself to move forward, pushing down the fear that he will faceplant, and heads for the door. The stairs are pretty tricky, especially since they still have some ice on them from the latest storm, but he manages. 

Campus is covered in a thick blanket of snow, bright and beautiful and mostly untouched. There are a few footprints in the grass, and a few students stand in the middle of the field, building a very asymmetrical snowman. 

As he hobbles back to his dorm, Magnus’ thoughts wander to his roommate, and a giddy smile spreads across his face. He had decided to roll the dice and go with a random roommate his freshman year instead of trying to force a friendship with someone on their college’s Facebook page, and it had turned out to be the best decision he ever made. 

Alec Lightwood is tall, grumpy, the king of eye rolls and pouty expressions, and a stubborn pain in the ass. But he is also a huge dork whose eyes crinkle when he smiles, who can go on for hours about a three line poem that he just discovered, and who will go to the ends of the Earth to make the people he loves happy. 

He’s Magnus’ favorite person in the world. 

They’ve been living together for 3 years now, and never once has Magnus regretted it. Cat and Ragnor are his best friends, the people he can tell everything in the world to, but Alec is his soulmate. 

Not that they’re  _together_  or anything. Because god forbid either one of them follow through on the shameless flirting and obvious connection. 

The elevator ride up to his floor seems to take a thousand years, and his eyes fall shut as it rises slowly. All he wants to do is collapse into Alec’s arms on the couch- has he mentioned that they cuddle, too?- and never get up again. He drifts off a little bit and nearly jumps out of his skin when it dings and the doors open.

His room is at the very end of the hall, and he lets out of a sigh of relief when it is in his sight. He knows he’s going to pass out as soon as his head hits the pillow, and he can’t wait. 

The door is slightly ajar when he reaches it, and he pushes it open slowly, peering into the unusually dark room. Their dorm is made up of a small living area and two bedrooms, which are located on either side. Normally Alec spends his evenings in the living area. He claims he doesn’t like being holed up in his room all the time. 

It’s just now that Magnus realizes he hasn’t seen Alec all day. He had rushed out the door this morning, almost late for his 8 am, and had gone to the library as soon as his classes were finished. He hasn’t even checked his phone in hours. 

“Alexander?” Magnus says, stepping further inside and pushing the door shut behind him. 

He drops his bag on the ground and squints into the darkness, pausing when he think he makes out a shape. He opens his mouth, ready to ask his roommate what the hell he’s doing, when the lights flick on and a bunch of voices shout. 

“ _Surprise_!” 

Magnus is frozen for a moment, his eyes widening as they take in all of his friends standing in the middle of his dorm with huge smiles on their faces. Cat and Ragnor hold a cake between them with 21 unlit candles on it, and Alec stands a little bit closer, his hands folded behind his back as he beams. 

Isabelle, Clary, and Maia are beside the couch, their fingers intertwined. Simon and Raphael are on the other side, not even paying attention as they bicker about something. Even Jace lingers in the back, trying to subtly stuff chips into his mouth. 

“What?” is all Magnus manages to get out.

Alec’s lips press into an amused line and he turns to Cat, one eyebrow raised. 

“I  _told_  you he would forget.” 

Cat scoffs but doesn’t reply as Alec steps toward Magnus. Everyone has already fallen into different conversations, unconcerned with Magnus’ apparent forgetfulness. 

“Happy birthday,” Alec says, smiling crookedly as he removes his hands from behind his back to hold out a small box covered in gold wrapping paper. 

Magnus takes it and stares for a moment, his mouth falling open as everything clicks. 

_It’s his birthday, and he completely forgot_. 

“Oh my god,” he whispers, looking back up at Alec, who appears to be seconds away from laughing his ass off. “It’s my birthday!”

“Yes,” Alec says slowly, as though speaking to a child, and Magnus scrunches his nose at him in a halfhearted glare. 

“What is this?” Magnus asks, looking back down at his present. 

“Why don’t you open it and find out?”

Alec’s demeanor abruptly changes as Magnus slides his finger under the seam of the wrapping, moving from teasing to nervous in the blink of an eye. He shifts so that Magnus’ view of the rest of the room is blocked, and suddenly it feels as though they’re the only two in the world. 

Throwing the wrapping paper on the floor unceremoniously, Magnus lifts the lid off of the long white box beneath, his pulse racing. Inside sits a thin silver chain with an arrowhead hanging from the end, a mini version of what Alec uses during archery practice. 

“You told me once that my arrows would look good on a necklace, so I got Izzy to help me, and-”

“You made this?” Magnus interrupts, his voice thick with emotion.

Alec’s nervous expression disappears in an instant, replaced with barely suppressed pride. 

“Well, I had help, but yeah...yeah, I did.”

Magnus looks into his eyes for a moment, an emotion that he can’t even name brewing in his chest, and he lifts the necklace out of the box. 

“Can you help me put it on?” he asks, holding it out to his roommate. 

Alec hesitates for only a moment, then takes it, signaling for him to turn around. Magnus shivers as Alec steps closer behind him, his chest only inches from Magnus’ back. His breath hits the back of Magnus’ neck as he secures the necklace, and Magnus turns before he can step away again, settling his hands on his chest. 

“Thank you, Alexander,” he says, his voice soft with gratitude. 

His eyes flit across Alec’s face and eventually settle on his lips, unable to look away. He’s thought about kissing Alec a million times, but has never once felt this ache in his gut, like he won’t survive if he doesn’t find a way to get closer.

“Will you two just kiss already so we can cut the cake?” Ragnor groans, interrupting the nice moment. “It’s getting late.” 

Magnus makes an effort to lift his eyes from Alec’s mouth, expecting to find a blush on his cheeks, but instead he is met with an amused smirk. 

_Well fuck it, then_.

Without another word, Magnus leans in and closes the distance between them, nearly knocking both of them over in the process. Alec’s hands fly to his hips to steady him, and his lips curl up slightly against Magnus’ own. 

“Stop smiling,” Magnus complains, pulling back slightly, “I’m trying to kiss you.”

“Yes, sir.”

It only lasts a few moments before Ragnor speaks again, torment evident in his voice. “Alright, that’s enough.”

A few whistles and teasing laughs ring out from around the room, but Magnus doesn’t care. He just received the best birthday present he could ever ask for. 

They all spend the rest of the evening stuffing themselves with cake and snacks, but when Magnus aces his final the next day, there’s only one person he wants to celebrate with. 

**Author's Note:**

> P.S. All I could think about while writing that necklace scene was when Troy put the T necklace on Gabriella in High School Musical 2. Shoutout to my OG faves from my childhood.


End file.
